Essie Summer 2012 ‘Poppy Razzi’ Collection (swatches & review)

I have never worn neon nail lacquer. I’ve never worn neon anything. I’ve never even wanted to, but when I first set eyes on Essie’s ‘Poppy Razzi’ collection something happened: I was instantly drawn to these four retina-searing hues. There’s just something about über-vivid colour that makes me think of summer’s heat, and let’s just say that that couldn’t happen soon enough for me! All swatches are with Essie’s All In One Base Coat and No Chips Ahead Top Coat.

Lights, Camera, Action, Bazooka: no holds barred!

Blanc is the secret weapon behind the swatches shown here; just one coat of this creamy dense white hue under each shade, and the colours come into vibrant 3D life.

Lights described by Essie as an “incandescent super bright pink”, is in fact the hottest blue-leaning pink shade you’ve seen to date, and yet there still appears to be the tiniest trace of restraint about it. With a self-levelling, easy flowing formula, the resulting satiny finish is rich and creamy, but definitely needs top coat to make it come to glowing life. Swatches shown with 3 coats of lacquer.

in sunlight

backlit

indoors

with flash

Camera which is described by Essie as a “neon red pink”, is a blistering hot tamale! The slightly translucent jelly-like formula, while not as thick as ‘Lights’, still applied in a fully self-levelling way, with the resulting finish displaying some beautiful coral undertones. Swatches shown with 3 coats of lacquer.

in sunlight

backlit

indoors

with flash

Action, a “vivid wild tangerine” as described by Essie, appears to me to be more of an ultra-apricot on steroids! At times looking rather egg-yolk yellow, while at others mellowing out to a more school bus hue, this shade bears a similar creamy formula to ‘Lights’ and applied exceptionally well, with a wonderful flow and finish. Swatches shown with 3 coats of lacquer.

in sunlight

backlit

indoors

indoors/alternate view

with flash

Bazooka is described by Essie as a “mind-blowing blazing red orange” but to me this shade appears more traffic-cone orange. Bearing a similar jelly-like formula to ‘Camera’, this is a wonderfully incandescent orange shade that while quite intense, still seems to be totally wearable – I can definitely see this beauty perfectly setting off lightly tanned toes. Swatches shown with 3 coats of lacquer.

in sunlight

backlit

indoors

with flash

Final thoughts: It’s funny, but when I think of neon nail lacquer, the image that comes to mind is a far cry from the four shades shown here. What I loved about each and every one of these searingly bright yet luminous hues, is how there still appears to be a paradoxically muted feel to them (sounds strange, I know) which in my opinion makes them not only wearable by a broad spectrum of skin tones, but age groups as well. Managing to appear both fun and sophisticatedly modern, the ‘Poppy Razzi’ collection is certainly not for the faint of heart – prepare to be noticed! (sunglasses optional). For more information, please feel free to visit Essie’s site.

I finally applied Action really well and fell in love with it! I was horrified by the neon the first time I did it but second time is the charm! It’s a great color. Your swatches really got me to reconsider it! I may get some more 😀

Your swatches are so beautiful! I honestly want to send my whole nail polish collection to you for swatching just for my own eye candy gallery. And I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: you’re the best writer in polish blogs! Nobody puts descriptions into poetry the way you do.

Om my Lord, Emily, you really honour me with your words…thank you so very much! I’m very glad that you enjoy my swatches – and the descriptions! I really enjoy the opportunity that blogging has given me to meet awesome readers like you!

Hi Michele! When I pulled out my bottle of Orange, It’s Obvious to compare, here’s what I noticed: visually, the 2 are nothing alike. Secondly, Bazooka, without the Blanc underneath, definitely applies more sheer with vivid pink base notes and has a jelly-like formula and dries semi-matte, whereas Orange, It’s Obvious is an ultra-creamy, ultra-glossy shade that is opaque even with the first coat, along with being more of a true orange. Hope this helps!

I like all of these shades, Eugenia!! They all look lovely on you, and you’re right – they’re bright but still wearable for everyone, I think! One thing though – I noticed you said 3 coats for each lacquer; is that because they’re more on the sheer side? It seems like a lot when you also include ‘Blanc’ underneath.

For the swatches, I opted for 3 coats – only because I wanted the photos to give the most accurate rendition of what these colours really look like live. Two coats is definitely more than enough for perfect coverage, especially as you pointed out, there’s already 1 coat of Blanc underneath it all. I’m not crazy about too many coats of polish either, so thanks for bringing it up!

These colors are absolutely arresting in person. I was walking out of the drugstore when they stopped me in my tracks, it must have looked funny on the CCTV. I resisted, but just couldn’t help but admire them. I just got that other color from Face Stockholm and it’s reminiscent of Action. I am going to have to get a matte topcoat, I think that these brights may look modern and chic that way.

Ooooh…I didn’t think to make them matte; in fact, without a top coat, they actually finish up somewhere between a matte & shiny finish, but I think you’re idea of applying a matte top coat quite interesting – will have to try it!

If you like, I hope you post. I’ve got to find time to go to this new nail place I found. It’s a bit out of the way, but I get Essie and OPI and all sort of other salon brands for cheap. So I am thinking I could find a matte one there.

I’ll definitely post an update with the mattified look, provided it comes out looking decent, lol! Lucky you that has found OPI and Essie at a discount – I love getting a deal, especially if it’s in regards to cosmetics and/or nail polish!

There are a lot of nail discount supply stores in the Asian cities. I used to go all the time in Westminster, but that’s too far just for polish. I found some in Monterey Park, which is a bit closer but still a little bit of a drive. The selection is overwhelming though. It’s a case of too many wonderful things.

Restraint always pays off in the end, as the plethora of new shades being released almost monthly, means you need to exert some type of control, or it can soon get out of hand – once more, you’ve shown how logical you can be!

Thanks Amy, but the credit goes to Essie – they’re the ones who figured out that neat trick and passed it along! And you’ll be surprised when you see these in person; even though they’re vivid, they still manage to have an understated quality about them…really unique!

Awww, Rie…thanks hon! I’ve said over & over again about how I’m a “colour purist” and more of a moody/murky hued girl, but like you, this year my eyes have been craving the brights — and these definitely are exactly that! As to Blanc, something tells me that I’ll be experimenting even more with it as well — yes, you must get it!

I like these, but I don’t LOVE them (not really a neon girl, although I may or may not have sported black and neon pink/green spandex shorts in the early 90’s with a matching neon scrunchy.) I may grab one or two of these as I see them making the perfect summer pedi colors- they type that make your feet look more tan! Oddly, I think ‘Action’ is the one that will make the cut with me…I’m draw to it’s uniqueness!

Ok…you know that now I absolutely have to see a picture of that! And a matching scrunchy? Fabulous! LOL! I saw that as totally killer summer pedi colours as well; I love seeing really vivid hues on my toes, especially when there’s a tan going on as well! And you’re right about how unique ‘Action’ is – I have nothing like it!

I saw this collection the other day at a store, and they are really eye catching! Very beautiful and weareable as you said. I’m not used to colors that bright, so I think I’ll pass. They’re tempting though, even more after seeing your swatches, but I know I’m not going to wear them, I just want to have the bottles to watch them haha
I’m curious about blanc, it has something special as a base or you can use any whit you already have?
Thanks for the beautiful swatches!!

I mentioned to another reader that Blanc has been part of Essie’s permanent lineup for a while, it’s not something that’s unique to this collection; something about it’s hue seems to really work in a great way with these shades to completely enhance their tone — but it’s a stand along polish as well and not a specific base coat. And even though you may not be going for any of these, thanks for enjoying the swatches!!

Thanks, Jessica and yes, all the swatches were layered over 1 coat of Blanc. Bazooka definitely leans quite orange but also has enough red in it to keep it quite fiery — it’s definitely not a neon orange, if that’s what you were concerned about.

When I see Bazooka I see an orange coral and it is beautiful, but I’ve got a lot of those shades already on hand from this season. I am still tempted to buy it but I’m going to do my best to hold out until I’v seen swatches of China Glaze’s neon collection!

It was hard to walk away in the store though, I have a gift card with just enough for a bottle of polish! But then again I might’ve been influenced by my lack of a coupon since I’m so cheap! lol

Hahaha! At least you’re honest about it! You’re right about there having been quite a few vivid coral-orange hues released lately; I may have to dig around my own stash and see how Bazooka compares to a few!

These aren’t exactly matte, but they’re definitely not glossy – sort of a satin type finish, as though their shine has been dulled. I personally prefer them with top coat to really bring out their glow, but now I’m also curious to try them mattefied to see how that looks! As to the China Glaze polish you mention, I’m afraid I couldn’t say how Camera compares, as I don’t own that one – sorry!

So I bought bazooka and action yesterday and I haven’t tried them on. I did see blanc and wondered why it was with the collection promo stand. But I passed on it because I just bought the Opi Spider-Man white Polish so passed on it, cause I don’t need another white Polish. But now that I saw this do I need to buy blanc in order to use these polishes? Would it look better with blanc and how do you use it in conjunction with the Polish?

Blanc actually has been in Essie’s lineup for a long time now and part of their permanent collection, so it’s not something specifically created for these 4 shades. I didn’t try them on their own as I really wanted their colours to “pop”, but they will certainly be vibrant enough even without anything layered underneath. You can try them over the OPI white you just picked up and see how you like the effect; if it doesn’t do it for you, then at least you know you can go back for the Blanc!

The them and brightness of this set of four remind me of the four Diors that came out recently – you know, Riviera, Lucky & company. I know that one had a nude or two, though, but since Riviera and Lucky are the only ones I remember/wanted, perhaps I could find a good replacement in these! Beautiful!

Glad you liked them, Larie! I hadn’t thought to compare them to the Diors, but now that you mention it, you’ve got me curious to see how close they are – guess I’ll be working on a comparison post this week!

I know what you mean at the end, Eugenia… they’re bright but not electrifying. Just shy of being neon.

I get a bit confused by all the oranges and corals out there now. How similar are these to the brights from Essie’s previous collections? I’m not buying anything for the next foreseeable year, maybe, but my curiosity must be satiated!

Exactly, Liz….you don’t have to look at these with shielded eyes in order to enjoy their colour saturation. You’re also right about the plethora of corals & oranges making an appearance lately from all brands; blame it on the warmer weather! If you’re asking how these compare to past Essie neons, I’m afraid I couldn’t tell you as these are literally my first “neon” shades ever! While I understand the reasons behind your restraint, I also totally support your curiosity — no matter what, you gotta stay in the loop, right?!

Oh its so nice to see such wonderful swatches of a polish collection I actually might find in my favorite store…
We have such small variety of brands here that it hurts…
So i’m going to get Bazooka on my way home today! Now I just gotta!
Thanks!!!

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